


18 Rounds

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s03e13 Night Five, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-02-18
Updated: 2002-02-18
Packaged: 2019-05-15 14:57:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14792666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: pre-episode forNight Five.





	18 Rounds

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

 

**18 Rounds**

**by:** Dee 

**Disclaimer:** His 

**Category:** post-episode for "Night Five" - Josh/Donna 

**Spoilers:** everything up to "Night Five" 

**Rating:** YTEEN 

**Author's Note:** I didn't really like my "Zeros". So this is another attempt at a post-ep that sort of picks up on the tension between these two. 

"Donna!" Josh wandered down the hall of the basement in search of his missing assistant. 

"In here!" 

He heard the muffled call from the conference room at the end of the hall and saw the door being held open by a box filled with folders. He used his foot to push the box through the door rather than step over it. 

"No! Don't move that box!" 

Too late. The door closed behind him and Josh turned and stared at the door. 

Donna closed her eyes and shook her head. "Let me ask you this. Why did you think I might put a heavy box against the door?" 

Josh stared at the box. "I don't know." 

"We're locked in, Josh." 

"Why?" 

"Because back when you were having all your secret meetings you had the locks changed on the doors. No one gets in or out without a key. I lost my key so I had to get Ginger to walk me down here to use her key. Then we wedged the door open so I could get out again. Silly us, not accounting for… you." 

Josh tried the door. It was definitely locked. "I can understand why we would want someone to have a key to get in, but why wouldn't we have wanted anyone to get out?" 

Donna rolled her eyes and opened the pad on the conference table to a clean page. She scribbled, Help Us: We're stuck. Then she ripped the page off the pad and slid it under the door. "I don't know. Probably some brilliant scheme you cooked up at four in the morning no doubt. Maybe one of you was trying to escape. My bet would have been the First Lady." 

Josh struggled to remember, but couldn't. Really the time they spent in this room seemed like eons ago. 

"What are doing down here anyway?" she asked him. 

"I came to find you. You've been gone for hours. I was afraid you were on another job interview." 

Donna wondered if there wasn't actually steam coming from her ears. "No, I was here, pulling all the election memos from the first campaign as instructed to by you." 

"And it's taken you hours?" 

Donna waved her hand over the stacks of boxes lined up against the wall of the musty conference room. "Josh, do see how many boxes there are? Forget the fact that I can only pull so many documents at a time until the dust overwhelms me and I can barely breath, there are over fifty boxes with at least hundred folders in each some pertaining to the campaign, some not." 

"Oh." 

Donna smirked. "Guess when you devised this little punishment, you didn't imagine it would actually take time away from your real work." 

"This isn't a punishment. I need those memos." 

Donna muttered something under breath, but turned back to the boxes. 

"What did you say?" 

Donna turned around and pulled on an imaginary bell. "Ding. Ding. Ding." 

"What the hell are you doing?" 

"I'm ringing the bell. You know the one that sends us back to our corners before we say something we're both going to regret later." 

Josh bristled and ignored the bell. "You really think I asked you to pull those memos as some kind of punishment?" 

She squared her shoulders. "Yes, I do. This is so like you, Josh. I have the audacity to be offered a job from an old college friend, and you treat it like some kind of betrayal." 

Josh felt his blood pressure starting to cook and realized that they had been spoiling for this fight for quite some time. Now they were locked in a basement conference room and there was no way out. Direct confrontation was not his style, especially not with women, but Donna was leaving him little choice. 

"I don't have a problem with the offer, Donna." 

"Oh really?" 

"No. It's the fact that you're thinking about taking it." 

"And why shouldn't I, Josh?" 

"Because this is an election year. Because you know I need you more than ever. Because working in service to your country is a hell of lot more noble than working in service to your wallet!" 

Donna could feel the anger turning into tears behind her eyes. "Ding. Ding. Ding!" 

She turned away from and took several breaths. She could feel herself unraveling and knew that the time for them to finally have it out had come. Part of her was scared because she didn't know how this was going to end. But the other part of her knew she couldn't continue to live or work under these conditions anymore. 

She turned around when she was ready and had enough calm to say the things she needed to say. "Let me just say that it's entirely hypocritical for someone who makes three times the salary I make to throw stones just because I might want to get ahead. But just for the record, the money is the last reason why I want to take this job." 

And that's when it hit him. She was still thinking about it. Leaving him was an option in her mind and the pain that caused him only fueled his anger. "So you are thinking about taking it? I can't believe it." 

"Really? You can't imagine why I wouldn't want to stay and dig out folders for hours on end just to satisfy your need for vengeance?" 

"For the last time, Donna. I'm not punishing you." 

"Bull! You've been punishing me since Cliff!" 

"Ding. Ding. Ding." This time Josh turned around and found himself struggling to remain cool. Unfortunately, he turned around again before he was back under control. 

"You think this is about Cliff!" 

"I know it is. You were pissed when you found out and you've been pissed ever since." 

"I was annoyed that you decided to screw the lead council for the committee investigating us! Gee, I wonder why that would upset me. Could it be because it might have gotten you into trouble? Wait that's right. It did get you into trouble. You almost went to jail for perjury." 

"That's not why you were mad," she told him. "You loved the fact that you had to save me. Once again, Donna screws up and Josh has to come for the rescue." 

"Well if the glass slipper fits…" 

She huffed. "Ding. Ding. Ding." She turned her back on him and she heard him pacing off his extra steam. She hated his, she thought. She hated fighting. And she especially hated fighting with Josh. But all of this emotion had been festering like a poison and she knew if she didn't get it out of her system it was going to kill her. It was going to kill them. 

"Why else would I be mad that you were seeing, Calley?" Josh said thinking about her last accusation. 

"You tell me." 

"I wasn't." 

"You were. You should have seen your face. It wasn't personal, Josh. I wasn't doing it to hurt you. I wasn't doing it to spite you. It happened because…" 

"Because what?" 

"Ding. Ding. Ding." 

"Oh no, you just dinged. Tell me." 

Donna sighed. "Would you believe I went out with him that first time to help you?" 

Josh snorted. 

"I did. Oliver said there were these rumors…." 

"Oliver?" 

Donna strengthened her resolve. It was time he knew everything. "There were rumors about us, Josh. Ugly ones. Oliver thought it wouldn't be a bad idea if I were seen dating other men. So when Ainsely set me up, I went." 

"Oh my god." Josh actually had to sit down at this point. 

"And I liked him. That's why I slept with him, Josh. The only reason. He liked me and I liked him and it just happened. I was…so … I had been so …it just happened. It was a mistake." 

He looked at her then. "Not a big enough mistake to stop you from seeing him again." 

"We're not seeing each other any more. Not that it's any of your business." 

"You said…" 

"It didn't work out," Donna said simply. 

"I can't believe you thought it could, but then that's your specialty isn't? Dating men you know are going to let you down." 

It was either hit him or ring the bell. "Ding." 

She turned away from him and shook her head a few times. 

Josh could see her wrestling with whatever she wanted to say next. He was ready for the next punch. "Go ahead, Donna. Say it." 

"And your specialty is dating women you don't even like!" 

"I like Amy," he protested. 

"Really? Do you really like her? Because instead of being happy and upbeat since you've started seeing her you've turned into a miserable, short tempered, disinterested, jackass! You're only pursuing her so you can win, Josh! She's Mandy all over again." 

"Is that what this about? Is that why you told me about the job and the fact that you were seeing Cliff again? Is this my punishment for daring to have a relationship with someone where it actually might work out for us?" 

Now it was Donna's turn to snort. 

"What? You don't think I can make it work with Amy?" 

"I think you're doing absolutely everything in your power to make sure it works with Amy. The point is Josh if you loved her, you wouldn't have to work so hard." 

"Oh so now you're an expert in love. You who can't sustain a relationship with someone for more than one damn night." 

She gasped in shock. And Josh stared at her with his mouth open. 

"I'm sorry," he said moving forward, cringing when she backed away. "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. I'm just so mad." 

A tear fell down her cheek and she brushed it away. "Yes. You are. And that's why I need to leave. Look at us, Josh. This isn't us. We don't fight. Not like this. And I can't… I can't keep doing this." 

"I'm sorry. But God, Donna… you can't leave." 

"You don't need me, Josh. Not like you did. You'll find another assistant… you have Amy…." 

He shook his head rejecting what she was trying to tell him. "I don't want another assistant. I don't want Amy. I want you!" 

They looked at each other then and his words hung in the air. 

"Is it too late to ding?" he asked. 

The sound of the door opening startled them both. Ginger poked her head inside the door and held up her key. "I was getting worried." 

Donna walked over and took the key. "Josh pushed the box out of the way." 

"Why?" 

He shrugged and turned away from Ginger. Ginger took that as her cue to leave. "I'll see you upstairs. Don't lose my key." 

Donna nodded and let the door close. She turned back to Josh who had his back to her. 

"Why do you want me to stay?" 

"Because." 

Donna nodded. They could say all the hateful stuff easy enough, but the other stuff… that was impossible. "I'm still thinking about it. I'll let you know." 

"Okay." Then as if to neutralize his previous statement he shrugged. "Whatever." 

Donna opened the door. "You should go. Leo's probably wondering where you are." 

He nodded and walked toward her. Then stopped. "I don't need those memos." 

"I know. I'll be up in a minute." 

"Donna…" 

"Josh, don't. I don't think I could stand it if you said one more horrible thing to me right now." 

"I was just going to say that I want you to stay because I need you. Like I've never need anyone and maybe that's why…. Maybe that's why what shouldn't be personal is to me." 

"It's personal to me too, Josh. It really shouldn't be. You're the Deputy Chief of Staff and I'm just an …" 

He met her gaze then and held it. "You're not just an assistant. That's the damn problem." With that he left and Donna let the door close behind him. 

"Ding. Ding," she muttered to an empty room. 


End file.
